WHAT

WHEN / WHERE

September 17, 2018 – September 18, 2018. New College – Oxford University

TOPICS

The conference explores the boundaries between truth and falsehood in the early modern period, thinking about disinformation, fiction, and power in tandem. By drawing together scholars working across regional, linguistic and disciplinary specialisms – from texts to visual materials, from network analysis to the study of literary genres – the conference seeks to call into question the idea of ‘fake news’ as a uniquely modern phenomenon while bringing fresh perspectives to classic debates on the evolution of news networks, the development of fictional forms and the origin of the public sphere in the early modern world. • Theories and attitudes concerning truth and falsehood • Genres such as the novel, the pasquinade and the canard • Multimedia practices of disinformation (images, texts, voices) • Authorities, censorship and the manipulation of information • Movement, networks and the circulation of disinformation • Fictions of gender, race and sexuality in disinformation • Global news, imagined travels, utopias • Libel, slander and the law Keynote speakers: Emily Butterworth (King’s College, London) & Alejandra Dubcovsky (University of California, Riverside)

APPLICATION

deadline is Friday 20 April 2018. Prospective speakers are invited to submit proposals for 20-minute papers (max 300 words). Interdisciplinary approaches, and papers that address non-European topics, are especially welcome. Send your proposal, along with your paper title and a brief bio (max 150 words) to oxdisinfo@gmail.com.BUrsaries are available to cover the expenses of early career researchers / PhD students. Keep updated through the hashtag #OxDisInfo